


Stag

by eating_soap



Series: my oneshots [4]
Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore
Genre: i honestly don't know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 09:33:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27848598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eating_soap/pseuds/eating_soap
Summary: The Story of Acteaon (and Artemis). One-shot.
Series: my oneshots [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1843435
Kudos: 6





	Stag

**This is one of my favorite myths so I had to retell it**

**I don’t own anything**

**-**

_ I am a hunter. I can do this. _ Actaeon thought, aiming his spear towards the grazing doe. The wind ruffled his dark brown hair as he breathed in a deep breath. Actaeon could sense his hunting dogs, who had tracked down the prey, shift on the grass of the woods.  _ Come on… _ He hurled his spear across the clearing, to hear a soft  _ crunch _ and a deer’s yelp as it bolted away. Actaeon looked at the result. Nothing but a spear implanted in a tree and a pack of disappointed hunting dogs. He trudged to the tree with his spear and tugged it out. He ran his finger over the tip once, when the dogs started barking, pointing their snouts towards the forest floor and wagging their tails as they went north. Actaeon ran to follow them.

Actaeon gasped slightly. His dogs had led him straight towards a beautiful, naked woman who seemed to be bathing in moonlight. She was alone, too. Actaeon crouched behind a bush, his heart racing. He didn’t recognize her from his city. Maybe....

_ Wait. _

_ Mother said I need to marry _

_ Why not this woman? _

Actaeon stepped into the clearing where the silver woman was bathing and cleared his throat. The woman turned her eyes towards him. 

_ Woah _

Her eyes were a startling, intense silver, like the moon. 

“I am Actaeon of Boeotia.” He started confidently. “I ask for your hand in marriage.” The woman glared at him. A faint splash was heard when she got out of her bath, stepping closer to him.   
  


“Have you not taken enough, boy?” She sneered the last word like it was an insult.

“Pardon?”

“You have taken the lives of countless animals to brag and boast,” She paused. “I respect a good hunt but not for those reasons.” Actaeon felt himself go on defence.

“Who do you think you are?” He glared.

“I am Artemis, goddess of the hunt.” Actaeon felt his face turn pale and out of the corner of his eyes, saw his dogs freeze up.

“Then you are not married yet!” He blurted out, thinking of the what could happen if she  _ did  _ agree. He would become a god, attend all the Olympian parties, enjoy life, and finally get a wife. Artemis took a step closer to him.

“I will never marry. A mere mortal will not change that.” She took a step closer. “I see your sins.” Actaeon felt his head get filed with images of himself hunting and not taking the meat. “And for them, you will pay.” Actaeon was getting the feeling that this would not work out for him. “I will make you the prey you fail to use.” She declared, snapping her fingers. “No man can witness my bathing.”

Actaeon felt something he’d never felt before. At first it was a funny feeling, like swimming through a pool of slime. Then it felt like the slime transformed into acid that was going to destroy him… his life…

After a few seconds, the pain passed. Actaeon felt like something was off. He looked down and his eyes widened. His normally olive skin had become short, brown fur, ruffling in the wind. Everything felt weird, too. His ears were hearing more and his eyes, seeing less. Artemis was peering at him. “Not my best.” She muttered. “Run, stag.” She flicked her wrist and his-  _ Actaeon’s _ \- dogs sprinted. Maybe they were going to his house, to whisper in the ears of his mother and tell her the fate of her son. 

But that didn’t happen. No. They were running to Actaeon, their owner. His newfound stag instincts kicked in, and he bolted, through the forest. 

_ Thump. _

_ Thump. _

_ Thump. _

Suddenly, the hunter-now-prey felt pain beyond anything. Teeth from his beloved dogs ripped into his form. Red substance stained the ground. All because of Artemis.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed! Artemis is my favorite Olympian so this was fun to write


End file.
